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Thursday, December 29, 2011

In Which She Babbles

-Christmas was really nice. The kids had a blast, and the grownups did too. It was a relaxing, fun day spent with family. I love giving gifts. It is by far the best thing about the holiday, though the day spent with people I love can't be beat, either. :)

They can't just make normal faces

-Spent the two days after Christmas sick as a dog. The cough that has been handed around in all the classes I've been teaching finally found me, and I spent Monday on the couch in front of the roaring woodstove, freezing and sleeping the day away. Tuesday was only slightly better. I hate being sick.

-Yesterday I was alive again! I woke up feeling much better, so I de-Christmased. I like decorating for the holidays, but when they're over, it's time to clean up. I like to peel the layers of holiday "stuff" off the top of things and see the plain surfaces underneath-they feel new. I've decided to do very minimal decorating for the next two months, just so I can enjoy the normal decor, when I put it back up. It feels like a break that way.

-Did a little bit of window decorating today. I took down the Christmas window clings, and put up the yearly snowflakes. Last year, the kids and I cut out snowflakes out of folded paper. I took them down really carefully, but they still ripped a little. Instead of just hanging them back up this year and taking my chances that they'd be in one piece, I "laminated" them in some leftover clear contact paper. To do this, I just placed the snowflakes in a folded piece of contact paper, and made sure the front and back of the flake was covered.

Then I cut them out.

Now, when I tape them up, I can also take them down without ripping. We can save them from year to year!

-I'm still getting the hang of the woodstove. I've got a routine already-every morning, I wake up, feed and water the animals, and then start the stove. I clean it out and set a new fire. It's the new fire thing that I'm still working on. I haven't yet found my "method" for starting a fire, so it's been a lot of hit and miss. I'm hoping to find a "formula" that I can just follow in the morning, because I'm not really awake in the mornings. They are not my friend.

-Dave and Ellie are now outside cats full-time. We tried to make them indoor/outdoor cats, but they brought fleas in with them, despite the many flea treatments we tried. Even the back of the neck drops that are supposed to work didn't work. I had had it with the fleas and chemicals and everyone being exposed to all of that, and we just put them out. We put a cat door in the garage for them to go in and out. They use it just fine, though I know they'd still prefer to be inside if they could.

-We had crazy high winds last night, which have brought in temperatures down in the teens. I guess it's about time for it. We've gotten off really easy so far. It's been a weird winter.

-We had our first off the street egg customer on Monday. There's been a sign in the front yard for months, but nothing comes of it, and I usually sell our eggs to people at my or my husband's job. But Monday, someone was out for a walk with their dog, saw the sign, and bought a dozen. I truly hope that is just the beginning. With 35 chickens, this Spring should be eggapalooza, and there's only so much quiche I can make.

-Speaking of eggs, I got 4 duck eggs yesterday. That's a record. I found one early in the morning, and then later, when I brought them dinner, there was a nest of 3 more. And a chicken egg. I've got one Ameraucana who loves to lay in the duck house, but only so long as there are duck eggs in there already. I guess she likes their company.

-And speaking of chickens, I have to get 4 or 5 chicken saddles made this week. Seems the boys like the Ameraucanas the best, and a few of them more than others, and the girls' feathers are starting to show it. Before it gets really bad, I will make them coats. Should be a fashion statement!

-And finally, I finished my seed tally sheet. It turns out I need corn, lettuce, and tomatoes. I was surprised about that one, because I usually have too many. Not this year. I will be placing orders at Victory Seeds, Baker Creek, Comstock Ferre, and Pinetree Gardens to fill in the gaps. Then I'll have to look into constructing some sort of seed "nursery" thing, because the quantity of seed trays that will have to be started this year won't fit where I'd normally put them (in the window). Joy. More building.

2 comments:

Does your stove have a hinged door (drop front style) on the ash pan? We just leave that door open a crack when we're lighting the stove (I know the manual says not to). You can use the latches to hold the door open and then buckle them down when it's going strong enough. Air sucks through the open ash pan, up through the grate and whoosh!! Also, using old lathe for kindling works well, too. :)

About Me

After years of talking the talk, I'm finally walking the walk--and have the boots to prove it.
Living on a beautiful piece of land in a small house, we are turning to the earth to provide for us and others. I am a "jane of all trades", working the land, tending to animals, and doing things that many people just don't do anymore. Teaching our children to be good stewards, and relearning the skills ourselves is our goal.